In search of flaky crackly crust
Hi everyone!
I really need help trying to recreate a thin flaky crackly crust on baguette style roll that is very close to banh mi bread. I had learned this recipe in a baking class. It worked fine and came out just beautiful during the class but when I tried to recreate it at home, I have had no luck getting that beautiful crackled crust.
I was told the secret to those beautiful hairline cracks is thoroughly spraying the rolls for about 30 seconds before they go in the oven.
I am completely bummed, and I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I am doing everything exactly the same..I think perhaps it may be the oven, but the oven used in class was an Unox(as is mine, although an older model).
I must have baked a hundred rolls trying to get it right, to no avail. Any advice would be appreciated!!!
Its veey important to have a decent stean atmosphere in your oven in order to produce a good crust. Are you introducing steam at all ?
i think banh mi bread is usually proofed in a humidity controlled proofing box to achieve the super delicate and moist skin. right?
care to share your process and forumla so those interested can experiment?
Thanks for the suggestions-yes steam seems to be central element here. Although the instructor did not introduce any additional steam during the baking, I spritzed the loaves with water for about 10 seconds halfway through the bake and rotated the pan, which some bakers seem to do with banh mi bread. Here, see link https://youtu.be/HEdZlCQVbEM
Hmm, no special equipment was used for proofing. Ok so here is the recipe. It is really almost identical to banh mi bread.
500g generic bread flour
305g h2o(6 degrees celsius)
7g salt
5g instant yeast
10g unsalted butter
1. Using a dough hook(kitchenaid), Mix at low speed for 3 min then another 6 min at medium speed until the dough is smooth and gluten well developed
2. Let rise for apprx 1 hr until doubled in size(kitchen temp 26-27 degrees celsius)
50215DA7-7B66-4D71-85DB-A9DE941B2F1B.jpeg
3. Divide into 8 balls each weighing 103g each. Bench rest for 10 min
4. Roll each ball into a fat blimpy batard, think rugby ball. You can use a baguette pan or just place on a baking pan, spaced as necessary.
5. Proof, covered with linen, for another hour or so until the batards become slightly puffy. DO NOT OVERPROOF as cracks will not appear when overproofed(said the instructor)
6. About 25 min into the second proof, start preheating oven to 260 degrees.
7. When the rolls are ready, give 3 slashes on the diagonal, no deeper than quarter of an inch.
8. Heavily mist with water, 30 seconds then into the oven. Lower temp to 220 degrees and bake for 12-15 min until nice and golden. Do not overbake.
After watching lots of youtube videos on making bahn mi bread, as the recipes are really almost identical, I made the following tweaks. I spritzed the rolls halfway through the bake and left the oven door ajar for 15 min after reading dmsnyder's post here on getting a crackly crust. Also tried spritzing the rolls 3-4 times at 2 min intervals..didn't make any difference and seemed to interfere with nicely drying out the dough toward the last stage of the bake, ending up with sort of flabby looking crust.
My last attempt was a bit better(pic) but the cracks were nowhere as pronounced as the bake during class and disappeared as the rolls sat cooling. Really, it seemed like a very straightforward process and I am stumped. Hope somebody can figure this out! It is a yummy roll, light and airy, perfect for sandwiches. A soft baguette with an extremely thin crust that shatters as you bite into it. I am afraid I will continue to obsess until I get it perfect and I am not sure how many more rolls my family, friends and coworkers can take coming their way ?
Perhaps a slightly longer bake will set the crust better? The pictured one looks pretty good. do you think the cracks disappeared because too much steam is still coming out of the roll?
These look really great - since they deflated a bit you might consider a slightly shorter proof to maybe retain some strength. Then try upping your oven temp a little mostly at the beginning of the bake then throttle down to your 220 mark around 7 minutes in. I would avoid opening the oven door during this period of 'springing' the loaves - youre just going to lose energy that way. Open the door after 7 minutes to lower the temp and dry out the atmosphere. Also not sure how many loaves youre doing at a time but since you have so many in your pic Im wondering if you are overloading - please note that more dough in the oven means the the sharing of precious heat so typically its easier to pop loaves with less dough hitting the deck. Since you have such nice results already maybe try some of the above changes without radically altering the current routine. ie slightly up the temps, slightly lower the oven dough load, slightly lower the proof time and maybe even apply only one of these pieces of advice at a time (per bake) so that you can you can make reliable conclusions about how the changes affect the bake (ie one variable at a time). good luck !
Thanks, yeah longer bake might be a good idea! I didn't want to risk overcooking the crust as these are supposed to be on the paler side. I remember these being the staple of Paris bistros of my childhood. I will try a longer bake maybe at a lower temp.
I think it is a combination of factors is at play here-residual vapor from inside may be contributing to the crust getting a bit wrinkly/soggy after cooling as well as the general high humidity level this time of the year.
to reach this hue ?
From
7. When the rolls are ready, give 3 slashes on the diagonal...
To (add a misting step)
7. When the rolls are ready, mist, give 3 slashes on the diagonal...
on second thought... try underproofing to make up for any temperature and humidity rises. Cut off some of the time in bulk as well as final proofing.
lower the proof time. Theres mention of deflation - always good to err on the side of under proof :)
Thanks Mini, very helpful! will try your suggestions! ?
I think the 2nd spritz half way in is bollixing your crust. There is such a thing as too much steam. And it is possible to steam for too long.
I've learned not to add in a technique from Baker B when trying to replicate a formula from Baker A.
One needs to master either A or B, before you "mash" them together.
Wow, lots of great ideas everyone-thank you! Will test them out, one at a time as Kendalm suggested. I think overproofing and introducing too much steam may be the main problems..and yeah not mixing methods from different bakers...spot on! Will bear in mind